Today, many vehicles include a cruise control operating mode. Cruise control enables the vehicle to operate at or near a set speed without operator input (e.g., depression of the accelerator pedal). For example, during highway or freeway driving, an operator may set a cruise control speed near the posted speed limit. At which point, the operator need not control the accelerator pedal to control the vehicle's speed. Furthermore, by relieving operator speed input, inconsistent and transient acceleration/deceleration events are reduced, which consequently reduces the acceleration/deceleration spikes that cause unsmooth vehicle operation. As such, cruise control provides for a relatively smoother vehicle operation while permitting reduced operator input.